Huckabee makes case for conservative support

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – A blip in most of the early polling, GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Saturday he believes his conservative views will prevail.

“Sometimes when people say, ‘When you get traction, I’m going to be with you,’ my answer is, ‘You are my traction,’ ” the former Arkansas governor told the Associated Press.

“If people of genuine conservative convictions don’t support a conservative with convictions, then quite frankly I’m not sure what the point would be to be in politics,” he said in an interview.

Huckabee was on a one-day visit to heavily Republican western Iowa, his second trip to the state since forming an exploratory committee. But in a state whose precinct caucuses will launch the presidential nominating season, Huckabee has spent less time than better-known rivals and trails in most early polling.

Some Republicans said Huckabee’s conservative message appeals to the GOP base, but he needs to convince activists he is a serious player. Huckabee said that will happen naturally over the next few months as Republicans begin to sort through the field.

He dismissed early polls as nothing more than a gauge of name identification.

“I believe I can win or I wouldn’t be in this race,” said Huckabee. “It will happen because over the next few months people are going to start sifting beyond the trappings and start asking not just what is this person saying, but is what this person saying consistent with what this person has been saying and what this person has actually done.”

Huckabee argued that the GOP primary will be a struggle for the direction of the party, with better-known rivals like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani seeking to move the party away from its conservative roots.

“Conservatives will have a real choice to make,” said Huckabee. “They are either going to decide that it does matter who they elect and that’s why they are in politics, or the conservative movement will essentially become nonexistent at that point.”